One of the biggest obstacles to 3-D adoption in the home is the uncomfortable, eye-straining glasses that are required.
Now there is an alternative, at least in the laptop department.
Today Toshiba introduced the world's first glasses-free, 3-D notebook. The Qosmio F755 has an Intel Core i7 processor and NVIDA GeForce 540M graphics, as well as harmon/kardon speakers, a Blu-ray drive, and HDMI output. It can display content in either 2-D or 3-D.
To achieve a 3-D effect without glasses, the F755 uses an auto-stereoscopic display. This works by creating a double parallax image: Two images are projected simultaneously, and face-tracking technology (through the laptop's built-in webcam) customizes the image based on the viewer's position, delivering one image for the left eye, and one for the right.
This allows for a “broad viewing zone from which to view 3-D content,” according to the press release. But this may also mean two people won't be able to watch the screen in 3-D at the same time.
In another effort to make 3-D more compelling to consumers, yesterday Panasonic, Sony, and Samsung teamed up to announce their support of the "Full HD 3-D Glasses Initiative," which would mean one brand of glasses could be worn to view all of their 3-D TV models. But so far, mobile devices, like the glasses-free 3-D Nintendo 3DS seem to be enjoying marginally more success than larger-displayed counterparts.
Although a glasses-free 3-D notebook may fare better than glasses-requiring models, stats from a March 2011 survey by research firm ABI Research still show consumers aren't overly excited by the technology.
Forty percent of respondents said they have no interest in a 3D-ready TV, and only 8 percent said they are considering a 3-D TV purchase within the next six months. Approximately 1.76 percent of the total flat-panel TV shipments in 2010 were 3-D capable (that's 3.5 million sets).
“Most 3-D HDTV purchases are being driven by other features, specifically screen size, price, display technology, refresh rate, and Internet connectivity,” said Jason Blackwell, Practice Director of Digital Home for ABI Research. “In addition, many of the current 3D-ready models have been discounted significantly and/or additional incentives have been offered including a free Blu-ray player, free glasses, and even a free PlayStation 3. For the most part, consumers are not clamoring for 3-D-ready TVs and other 3-D devices.”
And the same seems to be true for notebook computers and other mobile devices.
“In our March 2011 survey, only 28 percent of people listed 3-D capability as an important factor in their purchase decision for a new notebook computer. Processor speed and memory came in as the most important factors with 88 percent choosing each of those,” Blackwell said. As for smartphones, 58 percent of respondents said they had zero interest in a 3-D capable smartphone.
The Qosmio F755 can be yours Aug. 16 for $1,700.
source: Gadget Lab
